Play of the Day: Obama’s Budget and Biden’s Salary

By Ross Gianfortune, Government Executive

President Barack Obama’s comments about the relatively attractiveness of California Attorney General Kamala Harris remain a topic of conversation for late-night hosts. Since The Daily Show was off Friday, host Jon Stewart got his first shot at the comments, peppering the president with jokes. Stewart hit Obama’s jump shot, the return of Mad Men and even our heaviest president in history. Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show’s Jay Leno both went the retro route and brought up the 42nd American president. Stewart also used the upcoming release of Obama’s budget to go retro, using a sight gag comparison from the 1993 classic film Jurassic Park.

Late Night’s Jimmy Fallon had Vice President Joe Biden in his crosshairs. Fallon was the first host so far to mention the run of high-ranking public servants to take salary cuts in solidarity with federal employees, though Fallon’s idea of Biden is that of an overgrown child. Leno took a similar route, making a Happy Meal joke.

Fast forward to 2:30 to see Fallon’s impression of Biden trying to calculate his voluntary salary cut.